The man was quite happy, sighed slightly and started to talk briefly.
The City of the Curse was formerly called Fengyuan City because the source crystals here were extremely rich. A large number of people came to mine the source crystals, and this Fengyuan City was eventually formed.
Fifty miles north of Fengyuan City is Fengyuan Mountain. The source crystals in Fengyuan Mountain are of the highest quality, and most of them are medium-grade source crystals. High-grade source crystal mines are also often found.
As for the source crystal mines in the mountains in Fengyuan City, most of them are low-grade source crystals.
Source Crystal was once the common currency of our lost continent. Fengyuan City has rich source crystal mineral deposits, so it is naturally rich in oil.
It's just because at the foot of Fengyuan Mountain is the Dead Soul River, and beyond the Dead Soul River is the Land of the Dead. Not to mention mortals, even immortals cannot survive there.
There is no origin of heaven and earth, and only the Zerg can survive, so the Land of the Undead is also the base camp of the Zerg.
Fengyuan City was originally a border city and did not belong to any dynasty. It was actually controlled by the four immortal sects, and the source crystal veins were also controlled by the four immortal sects.
The merchants who come to mine only have the right to mine, and the source crystals mined must be divided among the four immortal sects.
Most of the four major immortal sects took away middle-grade source crystals. They basically looked down upon low-grade source crystals, but they were huge gains for the merchants, so it was considered a win-win situation.
It's a pity that everything must be reversed. Just when Fengyuan City was at its most prosperous, disaster fell from the sky, and the four major immortal sects were the first to encounter the unexpected.
But what exactly happened has been impossible to verify because of the passage of time. Anyway, the four major immortal sects suddenly began to conflict with each other, and a large number of immortals died in that fierce battle.
Not long after, all the living creatures in Fengyuan City disappeared overnight, with no bones left.
There used to be caravans who coveted the source crystal wealth here, but they never came back and all disappeared. No one dared to come here anymore, and this place became an abandoned place.
Until a hundred years ago, an immortal came to investigate and returned safely.
The immortal concluded that all living creatures had been sacrificed, and the spirits of the sacrificed creatures had cursed the city, and anyone who entered again would surely die.
No one would doubt the investigation of immortals, but after all, there are desperate people who come to take risks hoping to create miracles.
It was not until thirty years ago that the people who finally came to take risks returned safely. After the news spread, a large number of people came, but unfortunately most of them died unexpectedly.
But after all, some people survived, and some people started to conduct research, and finally found out the pattern. There may be a curse here, but there will be a certain limit.
Boys under the age of sixteen are basically not cursed, but once they reach the age of sixteen, they will definitely die and there is no cure. Even if they leave here before the age of sixteen, it will be useless.
People under the age of 40 are basically fine as long as they stay for less than a year. Others who come will definitely die.
After finding this pattern, merchants will naturally come. However, the work of mining source crystals can only be left to those young people, because as long as other people enter the mine, they will definitely die.
Child labor is not that easy to find, and it will eventually end in death, so manpower is even more scarce and mining efficiency is very low.
Source Crystal is now highly valued and is no longer a universal currency. It is only used by immortals and some special places, so its value is relatively higher.
Huge profits will naturally make people willing to pay, but after all, the scale is limited, so the amount of mining is not too large.
The location of Fengyuan City is special. It is a borderland and is thousands of miles away from the prosperous central mainland. It is especially a barren area of five thousand miles. The traffic is very bad and there are many natural disasters.
What's even worse is that the source crystals produced in Fengyuan City will eventually be transported back to the Central Continent. This is a coveted wealth, and bandits naturally arise as a result.
It was unaffordable for merchants to build a strong convoy, and without a convoy it would be impossible to transport supplies back, so hired convoys came into being.
The hired guards are called swordsmen. Merchants do not need to hire them for a long time. The employment relationship only occurs every time they need to be escorted.
This has many benefits. The employment relationship between the two parties is one-time, and remuneration will only be paid after the materials arrive safely.
Once the supplies are lost, both parties will bear the loss. The merchants will lose the supplies, the swordsmen will not get paid, and of course, more importantly, they will lose their lives.
For the sake of long-term interests, merchants will never deduct remuneration as long as the materials arrive safely. The trust between both parties is relatively high.
Now surrounded by this group of people, it was a merchant who was conducting an assessment to recruit swordsmen.
The matter was not complicated, and in just a cup of tea, the man explained the general situation clearly.
Ye Feng naturally understood why those people were so disgusted with him, because judging from his current age, he was exactly the kind of boy who was waiting to die after turning sixteen.
They all make a living by licking blood from the knife edge. No one wants to be contaminated with the aura of death, for fear of being unlucky.
He also knew that he had misunderstood. He should have passed through the land of the undead before, but he didn't see half a living creature. The Zerg base camp must have been a rumor. After all, no one had been there, so he didn't understand it.
It's just that he was cautious and didn't say it out loud, because he had a vague feeling that things might not be as simple as he thought, and he felt more and more that what the old man said might be true.
"Thank you, uncle, what's wrong with you now?"
Ye Feng did not dwell on those matters and asked as if changing the subject.
"I have no choice. Some of my companions came with me. Unfortunately, something went wrong in my practice and I can no longer serve as a swordsman. It is impossible to go back. I can only let them go first. I will stay and wait to die."
"Then why don't you go back with them?"
"Alas! The caravan will never bring idlers with it. If I follow, it will only become a drag on everyone and harm others and myself."
"I'm new to medical knowledge, so why not let me help you take a look!"
"It's not necessary. I'm not sick. It's just that I practiced the exercises too hastily, which diverted my true energy and damaged my meridians. Recovery is impossible."
"Well! Just give it a try, you won't suffer any loss anyway!"
"Haha, if you have your heart, let's do it. There are many inconveniences here, but I live not far away. You have to find a place to stay anyway, so why not go there together."
"Thank you very much, uncle. My last name is Ye, and my last name is Feng."
"Ye Feng is a good name. It is said that the surname Ye is one of the four major clans in the Celestial Dynasty. It is very prominent. No one dares to offend the surname Ye in the Celestial Dynasty. My name is Zhang Gui. You can just call me Brother Zhang."
"This..., then respect is worse than obeying orders. But I am just a poor boy from a mountain village. I have nothing to do with the Ye family of the Celestial Dynasty. I don't dare to get married blindly."
"Haha, that's true! Let's go. There's nothing to see here. Your body is too thin. It might be difficult for you to pass the selection test."
Zhang Gui stood up, said hello and walked forward.